Cost-effectiveness of an online parenting intervention to prevent affective disorders in high-risk adolescents (PIPA)

Adolescent depression and anxiety can become chronic or relapsing, increasing suicide risk and a range of psychosocial and vocational impairments if left untreated, highlighting the importance of early recognition and prevention. Close proximity of family life means that parents/carers will often be the first to notice significant changes in a young person’s emotional wellbeing which may indicate risk, but may lack sufficient knowledge about how to help and support them.

The majority of preventative intervention strategies are face-to-face and targeted towards young people themselves and may not include a parent/carer component. However, there is increasing evidence that modifiable factors exist within the family system which families may use to help reduce risk of depression and increase resilience.

A pilot trial in Australia targeting such factors has shown that a web-based personalised parenting intervention helped reduce depressive symptoms in young people.

This study aims to assess the cost-effectiveness of this web-based intervention in the UK within the context of the PIPA trial.